The health care category rarely comes in for approval here @BrandROI, but Humana caught my attention the other day at the gym, when I looked up to see a commercial that begins with an older guy jogging–but in a mysterious way, marked by a lot of sudden and inexplicable changes of direction.
The denouement comes when we realize that the old guy’s been using something like Under Armor’s MapMyRun app, and has been drawing a picture for his wife.
One proof that this is a great ad is that when I mentioned it to my wife while we were sitting on an airplane, the young guy in the seat beside her piped up, “Yeah, that was a good ad.” That Millennial liked it because the mystery of what, exactly, the old jogger was going caught his attention.
The reason I liked it was that it was a strikingly different (and positive) portrayal of two older consumers. The jogger wasn’t just in shape, he was also portrayed as tech savvy and creative, and still obviously in love with his wife.
Who gets the extra bonus point for not casting 50-somethings as 60- or 70-somethings? Did that come from BBDO? Production Company Superprime’s Molloy Brothers who are credited with directing the spot? Or even someone at Humana?
Enquiring minds would like to know more about this commercial, so Revolutionary Old Idea emailed Liz Hemmer, BBDO New York’s media relations maven, in the hopes of interviewing the team that produced this excellent spot. I hope BBDO gets back me. In the meantime, watch and learn how to market to mature consumers, without falling into ageist tropes and stereotypes.